Vivekananda Jayanthi: Shobayatras add color to the festivities

Thiruvananthapuram witnessed a unique spectacle today as hundreds of young kids, dressed up in saffron robes, as Swami Vivekananda, took part in a Shobha yatra conducted by Vivekananda Saardhasathi Akhosha samiti (celebration committee) to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of the great monk.

Though scores of women and youngsters took part in the Yatra, the kids stole the show, as the bystanders cheered and waved at them. The Shoba Yatra which commenced from Palayam and culminated in East Fort also had floats depicting the life and times of Swami Vivekananda.

Swamiji’s 150th birthday was celebrated in other parts of the state also with a host of programs.

In Palakkad, the Shobhayatra was inaugurated by noted writer C Radhakrishnan, who is also the state president of the celebration committee. Speaking on the occasion, Radhakrishnan called upon the youth of the country to study and follow Vivekananda’s teachings, which is the ‘Mritasnajeevani’ for today’s decaying society in the country.

P Parameswaran, director of Bharatiya Viochara Kendram and director of Vivekananda kendram, Kanyakumari, said the celebrations should be used as an opportunity to launch a second renaissance movement. Special programs were conducted in Vivekananda kendram, Kanyakumari on the occasion.

Marking the commencement of the one year long celebrations, the Saardhasathi Akhosha Samithi today conducted 1001 shobayatras across the state. The Samiti also plans to conduct house contact programs in all districts and distribute the works of Swamiji to popularize his message.